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Album: The Kiwi Origin Thread

Elijah Taylor and Manu Vatuvei ... Vodafone Warriors club-mates but in opposition camps for teams in a possible Kiwi &#039;origin&#039; concept. Photo: Photosport.<br />
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If New Zealand is to have a counter to Australia’s State of Origin concept – and surely it shouldn’t be a case of if but when – the most logical suggestion is to make it Auckland against everyone else.<br />
As long as there’s no carrot other than Test football for New Zealand-eligible players, and as long as New South Wales and Queensland are prepared to dilute the Origin formula by using outsiders like James Tamou, international football is in jeopardy. Certainly the Kiwis will be threatened.<br />
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Assuming then that a New Zealand product is created – urgently – then pitting Aucklanders against all-comers appeals and offers mouth-watering possibilities, not least in the halves where Auckland’s Kieran Foran and Shaun Johnson could steer the team around with Benji Marshall and Nathan Fien lining up for the opposition; and it would be major headache sorting out the choices in the front row and the back row for both sides.<br />
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For the Auckland line-up, the qualification is obvious … strictly NRL players born in Auckland. The opposition (please find something far more creative and inspiring than the oft-used ‘The Rest) should therefore be built around not just players born elsewhere in New Zealand but also those born outside New Zealand who have already played for the Kiwis or are known to be eligible like Jason Nightingale, Josh Hoffman, Gerard Beale, Fuifui Moimoi and Frank Pritchard.<br />
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The Auckland side would be a little slim on options at hooker right now but Thomas Leuluai re-joins the Vodafone Warriors next year so he has been included for this exercise. Both sides, while having clear quality in the halves, wouldn’t have real depth in the key playmaking positions.<br />
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This isn’t an exhaustive list but it covers the vast majority of contenders for the teams (James Tamou and Ben Te’o no

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If New Zealand is to have a counter to Australia’s State of Origin concept – and surely it shouldn’t be a case of if but when – the most logical suggestion is to make it Auckland against everyone else.
As long as there’s no carrot other than Test football for New Zealand-eligible players, and as long as New South Wales and Queensland are prepared to dilute the Origin formula by using outsiders like James Tamou, international football is in jeopardy. Certainly the Kiwis will be threatened.

Assuming then that a New Zealand product is created – urgently – then pitting Aucklanders against all-comers appeals and offers mouth-watering possibilities, not least in the halves where Auckland’s Kieran Foran and Shaun Johnson could steer the team around with Benji Marshall and Nathan Fien lining up for the opposition; and it would be major headache sorting out the choices in the front row and the back row for both sides.

For the Auckland line-up, the qualification is obvious … strictly NRL players born in Auckland. The opposition (please find something far more creative and inspiring than the oft-used ‘The Rest) should therefore be built around not just players born elsewhere in New Zealand but also those born outside New Zealand who have already played for the Kiwis or are known to be eligible like Jason Nightingale, Josh Hoffman, Gerard Beale, Fuifui Moimoi and Frank Pritchard.

The Auckland side would be a little slim on options at hooker right now but Thomas Leuluai re-joins the Vodafone Warriors next year so he has been included for this exercise. Both sides, while having clear quality in the halves, wouldn’t have real depth in the key playmaking positions.

This isn’t an exhaustive list but it covers the vast majority of contenders for the teams (James Tamou and Ben Te’o no

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